The player: Dalton Caldwell, founder and CEO of Imeem, a social networking site.

The play: Imeem is a social network centered on media. The site has built up a user base around music over the last few years via deals with major and indie record labels. Now, Imeem has begun reaching out to broadcast and cable networks to feature video from their shows on the site. Imeem inked a deal with MTV Networks earlier this month to include video content from VH1, Comedy Central, MTV and other networks on the site for users to watch and include on their pages and in playlists. “We thought it would make sense to get as much content as we can across MTV to show how they can take advantage of our user base to promote and monetize content other than music,” Mr. Caldwell said. He said Imeem is the fastest-growing social network in the United States, according to comScore. Imeem attracted 20 million unique worldwide users in December and more than 4 million in the U.S. The site adds 65,000 new registered users daily.

The pitch: Imeem works with content owners and splits the revenue from ad sales. That’s how the site has been able to secure deals with nearly every small and large record label to stream full songs on the site. “We have created this great media playground where people can interact with all this cool music,” Mr. Caldwell said. The next step is to strike more deals with video content producers and networks. Imeem users can embed music and video playlists on other sites, such as Facebook, MySpace or blogs.

In the mix: The MTV deal is Imeem’s first with a major media company for television content, though the Imeem site has featured video from Showtime’s “The L Word” and “Weeds” as well as The CW’s “Gossip Girl.”

The backstory: Mr. Caldwell started Imeem four years ago from his apartment in Palo Alto, Calif. Imeem began as a general social network and Mr. Caldwell fine-tuned the focus over time to music and media. “I thought there was a lot of room to express your taste around media and music,” he said.

The money guys: Imeem is funded by Sequoia Capital and Morganthaler Ventures for an undisclosed amount. Imeem is an ad-supported business, and advertisers have included Samsung, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Apple, Scion and others. Mr. Caldwell expects to achieve profitability this year.

Pros: Advertising on social network sites should hit $1.6 billion this year in the U.S., up from $920 million in 2007, according to eMarketer. That number should rise to $2.7 billion in 2011.

Cons: Social networking is a competitive space, with MySpace and Facebook the market leaders.

Background: Mr. Caldwell was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He attended Stanford University and studied symbolic systems and psychology. He worked in software development before founding Imeem. Mr. Caldwell is 27 and lives in San Francisco.

Who knew? Mr. Caldwell said he was heavily influenced by a popular Stanford class about sleep and its importance. “I took that to heart and I do everything I can to get eight hours of sleep every night. I am coming out in favor of sleep.”